Women in Science: Who they are, how they got there, and their best advice (Original Post 2018)

As I came to the last few months of my master’s thesis, I began thinking about what my next step will be. In this state of unknown anxiety (if you are a recent graduate student I’m sure you know what I mean), I decided my best step forward would be to write. Mostly because I like to write and also because, after the last two years of slaving over my computer on my thesis, I have really become rather attached to my keyboard.

A classic PhD comic relating to not being sure what to do after grad school (see http://phdcomics.com for more).

So, I guess you want to know what this is all about then? Well, I wanted to write about women. More specifically, I wanted to write about women in science. Selfishly, I thought, what do I need to get out of this blog as I take the next brave step into the world after graduate studies? So I began asking around to see what others thought about how to move forward after you finish your studies. One piece of advice stood out and that came from my sister, Marie. Essentially, she suggested I set up coffee dates with individuals in jobs which interest me. I would ask them about how they got there and what advice they would give to someone looking to break into that field. So using this idea, I decided I would blog about it as a type of journal to document the potential advice that might change the course of my career.

     I have decided to interview women after recently reading an article about the wage gap for sportswomen in the UK. You can find it in The Times magazine (Click here for the article). Essentially, what really stuck out for me from that article was that sportswomen are not as often featured on the cover of a magazine (even if they are successful) because you essentially needed to have a “profile” to match your success, most of which are taken up by men. Whether or not you agree with this article is beside the point of this blog, but it did inspire me to want to interview women in science and how they became successful.

     At first, I thought that I would only interview women who are situated in their careers. However, as I believe that women at many different stages of their careers will have a lot to share, I decided I would interview those at various points along their journey. It is important for us not to forget about the individuals who will soon be entering their careers, the many Ph.D. students who left their jobs to go back to school, or those who are working alongside their studies. So this blog will not only feature women who have full-time careers, but also women who are on their way. I hope you get as much out of this as I do! (Click here to take me to the blog!)

"I hadn't been aware that there were doors closed to me until I started knocking on them."

— Gertrude B. Elion, biochemist, pharmacologist, and winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine